Many students attending Orcas High School feel that the things they love and cherish are under attack. Time and time again Orcas High deprives its students from the very things that keep them going each day. The latest example of this indecency is the high school’s shocking decision to fill in the beloved potholes around the school campus.

The actual filling event occurred over the weekend. This was planned as a cowardly attempt to prevent student outrage and uprising. It seems obvious that the district’s effort to fill the adored potholes was to go unnoticed, they simply thought people would arrive at school on Monday morning with no inkling of the horror that had occurred. They were wrong.

Students and many faculty members were shocked when they saw what was once their precious potholes. One teacher who chose to remain anonymous said “it is just disrespectful that they fill in something that meant so much to the people of Orcas High. They may fill the holes in the ground, but they will never fill in the holes left in my heart.”

With students slowly recovering from the massacre of the once known potholes, the only thing left to do is reminisce. They can remember a time when their cars bottomed out on the drive up to the school and how this made them feel at home. In this time of fancy, new school buildings the holes reminded them of the “country feel” that community members hold so close to their hearts. One Orcas student said, “We must keep the country, country! I ran through those potholes when I was going to elementary school and I am shocked that they are taking them away from me now!”

Islanders are concerned by what filling in these potholes could cause. Many are saying it will cause drivers to go “much faster” through the school campus and the community cannot afford to cut this treasured piece of island history. Many also say that the nostalgia of hitting a pothole and ruining your suspension is something that should be cherished.

Devon Mann has a message for the extremist who filled the holes / Contributed Photo

However, this obviously over budgeted, glutinous project that has cost the school a fortune may not be the end of the school’s attack on what we love. We must stand up to the bullies that run our campus and tell them that enough is enough. The new #DigThemOut campaign has covered serious ground over the last several weeks as it advocated to “save the potholes.” The campaign is insisting that the school digs out the holes and restores the road to the historical value it once had. We encourage the community of Orcas Island to go online and vote on our petition to stop this attack on our island values. We must keep the country, country and keep the roads full of potholes.